Keep to the light
by Le Troubadour
Summary: Akai always wonders, but Rei never confirms. Quarupple face, what else?
1. Chapter 1

Being part of the Reconnaissance group had its own merit. Their main job was to gather information and kept a lookout, so for the most part they were not the ones doing the actual deed, namely killing people. Although if push came to shove, they were more than capable of doing so themselves, as everyone in the Organization knew how to handle firearms to a certain degree.

Today was such a day when he was conducting one of his normal routines of keeping a lookout for a drug exchange to happen. He didn't have to do it often, because the Organization usually switched members all the time, but apparently there were some important figures participating this time, so they needed high ranking members to do the job.

Where he was at right now, was an old abandoned apartment which was going to be pulled down soon for a modern complex to be built next month. No one frequented here, so it became an ideal spot for crime of all sorts.

Rei looked at the ocean beneath, scanning every corner for anything suspicious. Nothing here. The exchange had been going on for a bit long, and judging by the information Vermouth tipped him off before the mission, they were going to kill someone today for their misconduct at the previous skirmish.

Rei didn't exactly feel anything for the information, mainly because he had been in the Organization for so long that if he gung ho at any bit of information about someone was going to be killed, then he would be killed before long and couldn't make it to this day. One could say, infiltrating deep in a crime organization corrupted the agent itself, but Rei didn't call it corrupt. Rather, he called it 'coping with the situation' for a greater goal ahead, no matter how many obstacles he had to endure on the way. It made him devoid of emotions, but the important thing was that he didn't lose sight of the main goal, and with that, he successfully carried out all his current duties.

A gunshot could be heard inside the building, following by several shouting and more gunshots. Rei readied his short-gun. He was going to shoot anyone came this way without fail. But luckily, no one came his way. Shortly after, he received a notice from Vermouth to regroup, notifying that the mission was now complete.

As Rei climbed down the steps to meet with his partner in crime, he thought maybe it was not so lucky no one came his way after all, because that would mean they had all died by the hand of the Black Organization. But he quickly got that dangerous thoughts out of his head. If any, it meant he had become softer, and in this line of undercover job, being soft didn't help at all, if not a bother.

"There you are, Bourbon."

Vermouth greeted him, a smirk on her lip as she inclined her head to where she heard his footsteps. Next to her, Gin and Vodka were standing in front of two lifeless bodies, blood was still oozing out from the wound they had inflicted.

So two more people died.

"Nothing suspicious outside?"

Gin asked, his icy eyes glanced at him. He put on his usual demeanor and answered, eyes confident meeting Gin's:

"Everything is clear. We can go right now if you are done."

Suddenly, they heard a hiss coming from the lowerdark of the floor. Another person here?

Every member of the Black Organization became high alert, pulling out their guns and hiding immediately under the many pillars there, readied for any retaliation from the group whose boss they just murdered. But nothing seemed to come out from the direction of that noise. As the leader of the impromptu group, Gin made the first move.

"Who's there?"

No one responded, but another hiss. Sounded like a girl's voice to Rei's ears, but he could not be sure. Voice from the throat, if not pronounced correctly, was very easily mistaken.

"Drag them out, Vodka."

The one who was nearest to the sound, Vodka, slowly moved to where the sound came from. Minutes later, he came back with a woman in his arms.

"This is all, Gin. Probably the lover of that deadman, I suppose."

And that moment when he and the others stepped out from their hiding place, realization hit Rei. The woman was crying helplessly in Vodka's arm right now, with brown hair and that high forehead that couldn't be mistaken with anyone else's, the one whom he had worked together for so long to even notice some quirks of her here and there, was none other than Azusa Enomoto - part- time waitress at Poirot Cafe.

Azusa also noticed him immediately, eyes widened in surprise:

"Amuro…! Why are you here?!"

Vermouth let out a knowing sound.

"Is this not the girl at your part-time cafe, Bourbon?"

Right after, a gun pointed at his head and an icy voice followed, coming from none other than Gin.

"You said you didn't make any blunder, Bourbon." A sound click could be heard, Gin was releasing his safety lock, which meant that gun could blow his head off anytime now. "Why is your acquaintance here?"

Even if you asked, Rei himself was still shocked to see Azusa here, although he didn't let any of that show on his face. Racking his brain in the speed of time, he could not think of any possibilities why Azusa could be here. Of course she didn't follow him here. He had made sure of that when he came. And he even came with Vermouth, surely she would have noticed any tail should there really was.

So Azusa tailing him was out of options. Then was she here from the beginning? It was more likely, although if it was the case, then Rei didn't understand why she was here, at this abandoned building at this ungodly hour. It should not be her dating spot with her boyfriend. Surely not. Because if that was, then it was a very stupid reason to commit suicide.

Rei kept his cool, played it right at Gin to dismiss the silver haired man's suspicion:

"I haven't the slightest idea." Gin's thumb twitched at the trigger. "So we just have to ask the woman herself why she is here."

Rei then went to make a beeline to where Azusa was sitting whimpering on the floor, knowing Gin's short gun was still aiming at him.

The girl was just like how he saw her every day, though today, she didn't greet him with her chirping voice anymore, there was no smile either; only fear braced her feature and with each of his steps, fear was intensifying in her eyes.

Now that he thought about it, they only noticed her because of her sudden hiss after hearing his voice. Probably hearing a voice of her colleague at a crime scene was something she least expected, and that had caused the downfall of her almost-successful attempt at hiding.

Rei came to a stop before Azusa, he guessed his face looking down at her right now was very distant, judging by the fear that was intensifying to the utmost in her eyes. Then he knelt down on one knee, put on his so charming smile as always at Poirot cafe and greeted her:

"Hello, Azusa."

As if it was just a normal day at Poirot and he was greeting a co-worker and all.

But clearly, this wasn't it and it did nothing to make Azusa calm down. She became more confused and tears ran down her cheeks.

"A-Amuro" She stuttered. "W-What are those people doing here? And why… why are you with them?"

"Oh, they are my co-workers." He announced it naturally. "But really, they are a bit violent, especially the long hair guy over there." He then made a gesture to Gin. "So it would be best if you just told us why you are here, Azusa."

"Your-your co-workers? But...but haven't they just murdered people?!"

She was in a panic state that Rei realized, probably couldn't make sense of his question anymore. Patiently, Rei tried again:

"Why are you here, Azusa?"

"But...but…"

He could feel the impatience of the long haired man at his back, and he himself was starting to lose patience as well. He had spent years infiltrating the Black Organization and seriously, he was not gonna let all of his hard works go to waste because of a stupid woman being at a place and at a time she shouldn't be.

"Speak."

His alone word to her didn't sound like a threatening, but his low voice indicated a silent command that made Azusa stop right on her track of more trembling. She looked horrified, then started to talk:

"I… I am going to meet my boyfriend here. We are going to say goodbye to this place - where we first met - because this old apartment is going to be pulled down for a modern complex soon."

"What a poor choice of dating spot." Vermouth commented.

Poor choice indeed. This place of all places. This time at all times. He waited for her to elaborate more, but surprisingly, she kept her mouth shut. If you don't count the occasionally whimpering because of the scare, then that was it for her explanation.

"That's all?" Rei asked, hearing the disbelieving tone clearly in his ear. His head was fighting another shock.

"That...that's all. I went here earlier because I would like to surprise him. But he got held up at work, so even though our meeting time had passed, he still hasn't gotten here yet."

Vermouth burst out laughing behind his back, and through his peripheral vision, Rei knew Gin had strengthened his hold on his gun more, surely couldn't take on all this stupidity. But of course, Rei himself couldn't process this new information either. Azusa was here, because this was her dating spot? What the hell?

Being a cautious person as he was, Gin didn't let this slide whether it was true or not. Rei felt his step was coming closer, and the gun was now pressing hard on the back of his head, threateningly:

"What is all this about?"

He couldn't even comment on it himself because he was as dumbfounded as everyone here. But he knew, Gin would not wait for him to try to ask Azusa one more time. He would not believe anymore of Azusa's speech anyway, so that left only one option.

"It is as she said, that she is here waiting for her boyfriend." Rei met Gin eyes, not letting any unsettling feelings delude in his voice or look. "I have known this woman for quite some time, and I assure you she is speaking the truth. She is not the type who can lie. If you don't believe me, ask Vermouth over there. A superb actress as she is, surely she will know this is an act or not."

Gin turned to Vermouth, who just barely stopped from her laughing. She let out a 'can't be helped' shrug and nodded:

"It's as Bourbon said, Gin. What she said comes from sheer fear, but all of it is the truth. She is not lying."

Gin was eyeing them for a little, but that little seconds seemed like a century. Whether what Azusa said was true or not, his cover was now already in danger just because of her presence here. When Gin started to harbour doubt, he would not let it go easily and Rei could just hope, that he would not come to the worst conclusion.

"Alright. Then if she is just a passerby that happened to witness our murder…"

Gin's gun pressed hard at the back of his head again.

"...kill her, Bourbon."

His icy word numbed Rei's body. Azusa let out a horrified shriek, looking at him helplessly. Her mouth stammering for word, but none could be mustered in her state of panic. Rei knew, it was the end of discussion here.

Slowly, he pulled out his own gun from the jacket, seeing the disbelieving look on Azusa eyes. She kept shaking her head as if still not believed her friendly co-worker, was an assassin in disguise, and now was going to be the one to kill her.

He couldn't believe it either, that he was now aiming a gun right at his lovely colleague who always smiled brightly every morning she greeted him. Just this morning, no less, they were still exchanging bantering about the latest episode of a movie last night, and now…

But if he didn't do this, everything they had done until now would be for naught, his infiltration, Scotch's death… No, he could not let all of those left to waste.

That was when Rei decided. His eyes no longer doubted, he released his gun's safety lock in a terrifying click.

Azusa seemed to find her voice back, because she was stammering her final resort in tears:

"No...no Amuro! My boyfriend...he is in the cops! You will suffer serious consequences if you do this!"

_'There's no way back Azusa, had you known my situation.'_

And he pulled the trigger.

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On the way back, Rei noticed a too familiar car heading to the abandoned building they had just left. The driver on that car was someone he knew, his subordinate in the PSB, Kazami.

_Why is he here?_

Trying not to think of the worst case scenario, he looked at the rear view mirror for the license plate. There was no doubt. That was Kazami's car.

He thought Kazami had noticed his car as well, but there were many RX-7 owners in the world, he could only hope that Kazami would not make relation that way. Or else, things would be very ugly.

"About that suspicious acquaintance of yours that happen to be there just now, Bourbon."

He turned his attention back to his companion, Vermouth, who was on the passenger seat.

"Gin just texted me that you are going to find out more about her boyfriend who is working in the cops."

"Me?"

"It's your specialty isn't it? After all, you are our undercover agent in PSB."


	2. Chapter 2

Finding out someone's boyfriend was not easy, even if he had the lead that boyfriend was working in the cops. For starters, the cops had dozens of officers. Even if he successfully found out the number of personnel taking a leave today (for certain mourning reason), or better, the number of personnel had worked extra time yesterday, there was no way to ascertain who in that dozens of people was Azusa's boyfriend. Even he didn't know she had a boyfriend until yesterday. And the gossiping colleagues at Poirot did not know either, which meant Azusa must be really tight-lip about this matter. Searching for that boyfriend would be a hardship.

But seriously, right when Rei thought it would be a tremendous job looking for Azusa's boyfriend, he realized he didn't have to waste any time at all, because that person was standing right in front of him now, inside the PSB headquarter, tears running down his cheeks and he looked like someone who aged ten years in just a day.

"Did you happen to be at the abandoned Kakucho apartment last night, Furuya?"

Dear god, you must be kidding me. His subordinate, no less.

"What are you talking about?" Rei feigned ignorance, as much as possible, he wouldn't want for everything to spiral down this way.

"Stop playing dumb! I saw you on your RX-7 car yesterday, driving out from the way leading to the apartment! Did you...did you responsible for what happened?!"

_Did you kill her?_ That question was nearer with the expression Kazami was making.

Rei knew that, now, there was no way out of this. Either he outright refused everything or affirmed his subordinate's accusation, Kazami would just keep asking him until he got the answer for why he had been there yesterday. Worse, he might start to investigate on his own and Rei might as well put an end to his future long and dangerous investigation now.

"The right question is, did the Black Organization responsible for what happened?"

Kazami went rigid, his breath stuck in his throat as he tried to process the new information that Rei just dropped.

"Then that means…"

"That's right." Rei confirmed, expression grim. "She was killed by the Black Organization, for happening to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time."

For a moment, Rei thought Kazami didn't have the strength to stand anymore given how his leg was shaking dangerously, his eyes full of horror and his face was distorted in pain. But right after, as if gaining strength from god-knows-where, he suddenly caught Rei's collar and brought him near, voice trembling in anguish:

"Why?! Why didn't you save her? You were there! You could have saved her!"

Rei didn't resist. Or rather, he didn't think he should resist in this situation. He calmly responded, stating matter-of-fact.

"Save her? My cover was nearly blown because of her being my acquaintance. I couldn't do anything for her in that situation, Kazami."

"Just-Just because of your cover...you let her die like that?!" Kazami shouted at him.

"I said that it's not it. Use your head, Kazami. We PSB have been infiltrating the Black Organization for so long, losing members on the way, and now finally I have been in a firm enough position within the Org. Giving just a little more time, we can bring them down once and for all. And that position that so many people had sacrificed for would be blown away just because of a girl happened to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time?"

He released himself from Kazami grip.

"I'm sorry for what happened, Kazami. But really, there's nothing I could do for her at that time and I still regret it. One day, we will bring down the organization, avenging her death and many more deaths of our colleagues."

Kazami crumbled under him, no strength could keep him up now, but Rei felt none better after reasoning with his subordinate. What a lie he had say. From the mouth of a murderer no less. But at the moment, he would not delve into it because right now, they were having a far more urgent matter at hand.

"More importantly, we should enter you to the witness protection programme immediately."

Kazami glanced up at him, his lifeless eyes a questionable look.

"Everything will be less complicated if Azusa didn't let slip that you are in the cops. I have received an order to investigate her boyfriend. Even if I try to stall giving them your identity, sooner or later they will figure it out themselves. And if that happened, not only me but you would also be in danger. We will have to take a step ahead of them.

Kazami seemed to realize something, because suddenly his shout returned in fullforce.

"Not only me… so it's still about you? Your cover…! It's all about your cover?! Don't you care for anything else?!"

Rei saw that Kazami was not to speak reason to anymore, so he kept it brief.

"If I didn't care for anything else, I would have handed you to the Black Organization by now."

This time, he was the one who pulled Kazami lapels up and spoke right at his colleague's face:

"Pull yourself together, Kazami. I will talk to the higher ups about your situation. We will have to race against time if we want to outwit them."

Then Rei released his colleague to the floor where he collapsed into a mobbing mess and stepped out of the room. He couldn't save Azusa that night, but he was not going to let her boyfriend suffer the same fate as her. Definitely.

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Dealing with Kazami was one thing, breaking the news of Azusa's death to the others was another thing. The good thing was, he was not the one to do it. Due to the nature of the event, TV broadcaster was the one who announced her death to a whole country, dubbing her the lover of the narcotics smuggler, much to the disbelief of everyone who knew Azusa personally.

Much to his luck, when the news was broadcasting, almost everybody who knew Azusa were present at Poirot Cafe. Him, came in to replace Azusa - whom their boss couldn't contact in the morning, was understandable. Conan, Ran were understandable, giving their house was right above the cafe and they came here for meals regularly. Sonoko Suzuki, friend of Ran, was kind of understandable. Today was Sunday and she usually came here with Ran for a cup of coffee before they went out for the day. But even the self-acclaimed detective boys were also here with Conan (minus the brown haired girl), and that man over there, Okiya Subaru, was with them, was beyond his understanding. He didn't know why, when it was the least possible time for someone to be present at a place, all of them happened to show up. Azusa yesterday for example.

And well, when the news was on, disbelieving look could be seen on everyone's eyes. There had to be minutes before someone could muster something, because they still couldn't take on such a sudden and disastrous news as that. Rei played his role, acted as surprised as everyone else to deceive any perceptive eyes. He knew that even if a news was attracting all of the attention, some people here were quite observant and he could not let his guard down because of that.

When the news ended, Ran and Sonoko broke down in tears, on par with the Poirot Cafe's owner. They had come to be very good friends with Azusa because of the many times hanging out at the cafe. The little kids from Teitan elementary school also cried, stating that she was the loveliest person they known and asking why they made her into some bad person, she was not the one to do something like that. Conan did not cry, the boy fished out his phone immediately to call someone. Let he guess. He will probably called his acquaintance at the Police Department, judging by his deep relationship with them by how many cases frequented. But unfortunately, PSB had taken on this case, so it was in no jurisdiction of the Police anymore. All in all, there would only be one option left.

He saw Conan ended his call with a grim look. Right after, the kid set his sight on him and Rei knew he was right after all. He didn't even need to guess Okiya Subaru's eyes were on them when Conan tugged his shirt, pulled him down for some secret whispering:

"Do you happen to know anything about this, Zero?"

The kid was good, but knowing too much was not good at all. Rei only looked at him...

"I will say this for your own good, Conan."

The least he could do, was giving this kid a warning.

"Stay out of this. It's not something you should get involved in."

Rei was playing a risky gamble here. Confirming he knew the case and telling Conan to stay away from it did sound very regular from a police officer's standpoint to a commoner, but this child was no normal, and such no normal child also knew that Rei handled a very 'specific case'. If he knew a normal case that should be under the jurisdiction of the Police Department was suddenly be taken in by the PSB, plus Rei himself was involved in it, then definitely the boy would connect all the dots and came to the conclusion that there was involvement from the Black Organization.

Seeing Conan expression turned from worried to a sharp intake of breath and eyes darkened a shade confirmed Rei of it. Conan definitely got his message.

Leaving the boy there, Rei stood up to go console the Poirot Cafe owner. He still had to keep an eye on Conan though, this kid seemed to get agitated whenever the Black Organization was involved. Although he didn't know the reason why all the worked up and he didn't have time for it now, it was best that he and PSB could finish everything tonight, so that he had more time to deal with the rest of Azusa death's fallout.

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Conan had witnessed many dead bodies before, but he didn't really see the aftermath. He solved the cases and let the police and the victim's families carry out the rest, because there was so much a detective could do if he still wanted to be in the field in the future. It was not a protocol to keep yourself distant from the victim, but getting too close was not doing any good in this line of work, a detective needed to keep a cool head and be objective at all times.

That was why, attending a funeral now felt so strange.

Conan looked at the picture on the altar surrounded by flowers and candles neatly lined up. The girl smiling in the picture was someone he knew, although not dearly, she had become some kind of a neighbor to him and he still couldn't believe one morning he just greeted her on his way to school, the next day what he heard from TV announcer was her sudden death.

What was more, her death seemed related to the Black Organization, otherwise detective Takagi would not tell him that he didn't have any information because as soon as the site was discovered, PSB had taken it in, and otherwise, Amuro would not warn him about not getting involved.

There was something fishy going on, and the only lead he had right now was to somehow make Amuro disclose the secret. But with the way he told him this morning, Conan didn't think he would get the answer he wanted.

So instead, he had come here, to pay respect to Azusa, but also in the hope that he would learn a bit about the mystery surrounding her death.

Ran was sobbing soundly besides him. She was a very emotional girl, and for someone who was dear to her to suddenly lost her life, he could somehow imagine Ran's sorrow if even he himself felt disbelief like this. However, Ran's sorrow, if calculated by the sobbing noise and how much tears had run down, was nothing compared to the man over there, a black haired man with glasses who had been weeping nonstop the moment he arrived.

He stood in front of Azusa's altar crying for quite some time, even after someone came to console him he still refused to leave. Only after hearing that the more he stood there crying, the more painful it would be for Azusa family did he decide to move, and to Conan's surprise, they were heading over here, to where he, Ran and Sonoko were sitting.

The woman who had persuaded him sat him down next to Conan, herself next to the man. That man was trying to take something out of his vest pocket, but because his hands were trembling so much, he dropped the stuff to the floor. Conan quickly climbed down from the chair to retrieve it for him, only then did he realize the open notebook was a distinctive one police officer always had. Such notebook was even open to the page that had an identification, Yuya Kazami, as it was stated. He came back, handed it over to the man:

"Here you are, Kazami-san."

The man muttered an incoherent thank you then put it inside his vest again, he tried searching for something else but after awhile, he gave up and returned to his sobbing.

The woman next to him seemed to understand something, she pulled out her handkerchief and handed it over.

"Here. Use this."

Kazami accepted it with some broken words of gratitude, then using the pink handkerchief to wipe his tears, although more still came out from his eyes along with the occasional hiccup. The man seemed to be in excruciating pain.

"You must love her very much." The woman commented. That sentence piqued Conan's curiosity.

"Love…?" He couldn't help wondering out loud. "Are you Azusa's boyfriend?"

Though he never heard anything about Azusa had a boyfriend before.

Ran suddenly covered his mouth, whispering to him to not do something that rude. But before she could take further measurement, the man confirmed his doubt:

"Yes, I'm her boyfriend."

Now it was the woman next to him that surprised.

"Ehh? I only said that because you looked so sorrowful. To think that you are really connected to Azusa that way…"

And that seemed to hit right at the nail, because his uncontrollable sobbing was now getting worse:

"If only...i'm did not connected to her like that, maybe... she would still... alive."

Conan eyes widened. He couldn't believe he could get some lead on Azusa death right now.

"What happened?"

The woman placed a hand on Azusa's boyfriend's shoulder to comfort him, eyes understanding. Conan didn't know who she was, but he was thankful because thanks to her, the man seemed to relax somewhat and felt easier to tell them the story.

"We...we had promised to meet at the place where we first met, at sunset. But...because I got held up at work, I couldn't get there until night. I…" The man pressed his eyelids hard together, regret welled up in his tone. "...I had already sent her a message saying she should go home, but she stubbornly refused, she wanted to have a talk with me that day regardless. Because… because I have been too busy with work that I have neglected her for quite some time…"

The horrified look spread across everybody's faces at that moment. Sonoko was the one who broke the silence:

"And that place yesterday... happened to be the place smuggler decided to conduct their crime...?"

The man nodded, then suddenly buried his head in his hands, shouting solemnly:

"If only...! If only I didn't get held up at work yesterday! If only I could go to meet her at our designated time, she would… she would never have…!"

And he left it at that, couldn't finish the sentence but everyone understood. Conan felt confused. Was this really just a coincidence? This man sorrow seemed too good to be fake, and he didn't think it was fake at all. One could feel sad for a lost life, but only those who had deep relationship with someone and held a regret could have an expression like that. If anything, that was what his career had taught him until now, his mom being an actress also helped.

So...if this was really a coincidence, and Azusa walked right into a crime scene committed by the Black Organization, surely, they wouldn't let her live. But then, did they know that she had promised to meet her boyfriend there? It would be good if they didn't know anything, but if it was, then Kazami was in real danger!

As Conan looked at the man in front of him, he thought he shouldn't jump to conclusions like that. That was the worst case scenario and not always happened to be. One thing was, the man was still here, nothing happened to him all morning until late afternoon. If they had known, they would have dealt with him by now, not wasting time letting him pay respect to Azusa.

But then again, the Black Organization might know about Kazami, but maybe they didn't know why he was going to meet someone at the abandoned apartment yesterday. It made sense if they delayed the killing to ascertain information first. If they knew Kazami was in the cops, they would be all the more cautious. And if this train of thought was right, then...

Conan turned alert mode. He realized someone had fit perfectly to the description he thought just now. And even as they spoke, that person was still gawking out information from Azusa' boyfriend one after the other, though very subtle.

"It's not your fault, Kazami-san." The woman consoled. "No one knows such a thing could happen."

"That's right." Ran continued. "Please don't feel too bad about yourself. No one wants that happened."

The man shook his head, still couldn't accept such kind words. Not even the handkerchief could do much now because it had been drenched in tears, so Kazami started to wipe his tears by his wrist collar instead.

If what Conan thought was right, next would be a question to find out Kazami's motive for being there yesterday. Surely the Black Organization couldn't buy a reason like dating spot.

"Sorry for me asking...but why that place of all places? That abandoned Kakucho apartment is hardly appropriate for a dating spot." The woman indeed asked! Conan felt like his heart was hammering in his chest. So she really was a Black Organization member!

Not realizing the looming danger, Kazami choked through his tears, but still answered the question of the one who had been consoling him until now.

"Because we used to have...so much memories at that place. We grew up together at that apartment, and Azusa… Azusa holds everything dearly. If...If we are going to break up - judging by the serious tone Azusa said that day when she wanted to meet me there - Azusa would want to settle everything over there, where everything starts and over."

'_No, no more Kazami-san!'_ \- Conan thought. - '_If you talk anymore, it will be your demise!'_

The woman seemed to be deep in thought. She hadn't paid attention to Conan until now and he sure hoped not. Not when he had already figured out who she was.

"But really… if you are in the cops, Kazami-san." The woman started to talk, dropping something out of the blue. "I think you must notice something fishy about your girlfriend's death."

Kazami turned to his left, eyes questioning.

"My brother is also in the cops, and he told me all of a sudden, this case was moved to a different department and he couldn't get any files for me because of that."

Now, even Kazami became alert. He stood up, looking at the woman who was smiling with cautious eyes:

"Why…? Why do you have such information?"

"Why, indeed?" The woman revealed her smirk, then turned knowing eyes at him, sharp. "Because I'm a journalist. I came here to find out more about this suspicious incident, and thank you so much for letting me know such an important information."

Kazami face darkened. He hurriedly walked past them and left the place immediately, leaving Sonoko, Ran and him speechless. The girls couldn't believe how thoughtless this woman was although she seemed sincere at first. Conan was speechless because he couldn't understand what the Black Organization was trying to play. That much information was enough already? Why did they have to provoke the poor man like that?

Noticing the disbelieving look on their faces, the woman slowly stood up, the smile braced her features in an almost eerily one.

"I would advise you not to go out during this time. Who knows? Maybe that murderer is still going rampant, or you would walk right into a crime scene like little poor Azusa?"

Then the woman left. Conan quickly followed her, but as soon as he took one single step, a strong hand had pulled him back and it was Ran who was hugging him, voice tense:

"Conan! Where are you going?"

"I...I suddenly remember I have something to do, Ran-nee san." Conan stammered for words, trying to find ways out of Ran's hands. But then, Ran turned him back to face her, eyes pleading.

"Please... Just stay beside me today, will you, Conan?" Ran's pleading sounded disheartening, and Conan knew he was a lost cause. He reluctantly agreed with Ran, though he couldn't help looking at the woman until she was out of sight. If that woman knew provoking Ran would result in him confined like this, then definitely - his face darkened...

...that was Vermouth!

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Here was what Rei didn't tell Kazami. He did tell him that the Black Organization would try to capture him alive to ascertain the reason why he and Azusa were going to be there that day. After that, they would decide what to do with him, most likely a death sentence, because of Kazami's reason. But seriously, The Black Organization didn't need to capture someone to have their testament. They had more effective methods to get what they wanted from their target without their awareness. Disguising was one of it.

This time, because Rei was her subordinate, Vermouth was dispatched for the job and if it was that rotten apple, there was no way they couldn't get the result.

Right after Vermouth reported back the confirmation they needed about a coincidence just happened to take place at their crime scene, they moved on to the next stage: eliminate the target.

He had told Kazami and the PSB that the Black Organization preferred to kill its target at a remote place, far from the crowd, so it was best if they handed them their preferable reference. Actually, there was an ideal place like that not too far from Kakucho apartment, just 2km away. Kazami heading there was not something suspicious because he was a cop, Rei could just tell the Black Organisation that he was going over there to help with the investigation.

For the Black Organization, Kazami sorrow and rage had been made very clear, there was no way they still doubted it. Adding the fact Rei told them that a righteous police officer as he was, if his girlfriend was killed in a suspicious crime scene, plus he had known that this case was suddenly taken in by the PSB, he would think there was something fishy going on and he would head to the crime scene to investigate himself. Hence, they - or Vermouth - just had to push a little, and the target would head right to where they wanted him to go to.

"That car is here, just as you had planned, Bourbon."

Vodka informed them on the top of a bowling center, the man was looking through binoculars.

Rei couldn't hide a little thrill welling inside when every chess pieces were falling into place.


	3. Chapter 3

Perching on top of a bowling center's parking lot, Rei eyes followed a gray car that was approaching from afar. Besides him, Gin, Vodka and Chianti all presented - the regular faces for when a 'hit' was conducted. After all, they were going to kill someone today, and that was, if they could succeed. Up until now, everything had been going according to Rei's plan, if they could keep it up until the end, both parties would have the outcomes they desired: a death for the Black Organization, and another chance at life for PSB officer Kazami.

Chianti was trembling with excitement:

"Ooooh! Come here, come here faster! My gun has been waiting for you for very looong!"

"Shut it, Chianti." Gin scolded. "Wait for the right moment."

Chianti had to settle down a little, but she still couldn't hide the pleasure on the finger that was threatening to pull the trigger at any moment. Opposite to them on the building across the street, Korn also readied his gun, highly concentrated on the moving car that just left the lights traffic.

The plan was for Vermouth to successfully provoke Kazami to head here to this uninhabited area. After that, they made the target's car stop, and their snipers would carry out the rest. Very simple, and since this was about 2km away from the crime scene by the coast yesterday, Kazami couldn't ask for reinforcement from his cops friends immediately. A perfect place for another yet perfect crime to conduct.

But still, there was a way for Kazami to get away from this ambush if everyone at the PSB did as he said. As remote as it was, this was not a street without cars. So when Kazami came to the trap set up by the Black Organization - namely this bowling center, which Rei had tipped him off beforehand…

Gin smiled victoriously and pressed a button on his hand.

A deafening noise roaring, the small pack of C4 Vermouth had attached to Kazami car's tire exploded, causing the driver to lose balance and slammed his car right at the abandoned apartment opposite to the bowling center. Kazami knew there would be ambushes on both sides, so it was ideally that he could slam his car beneath a car parking's roof right outside the lot, that way, when he came out from the driver's seat, the car would hide him from Chianti and the roof above could block Korn's shot from atop. However, it was very hard to tell whether Kazami could do something like that given they didn't know how damaged the car would be. Rei just hoped the best Kazami could do was slam himself so that the driver's seat was on the right hand side, at least that way he could come out of the car by the driver door without raising suspicions that Kazami had known this beforehand.

Rei saw the car turned dangerously to the left side before finally came to a stop underneath a tree to the left of the apartment. The driver's seat was on the right. That was good enough.

Chianti and Korn was concentrating. Their guns aimed at any movements might come out from the car, but without proper sight, they couldn't do anything.

And this was a remote street, but not without cars. So the next action for Kazami to take was…

A car coming from the other side was heading to where Kazami car just crashed. Normally, people were gonna stop to check the sight of a traffic accident. This was Kazami's chance!

Did as he had been informed, Kazami opened the door at the left side and ran out as fast as he could. Chianti moved her gun following his dash, but all shots barely scratched Kazami clothes. Korn couldn't do anything because Kazami was moving under the tree. The next thing, Kazami approached the car that just stopped and shouted to the driver.

"Police! Come out now!"

He had to get down because of a gunshot from the sniper, but when the driver just opened the car in panic, he pulled the poor man out and got inside the new car quickly, driving immediately out of danger.

Chianti cursed, couldn't believe they missed a sure-fire chance like that. The poor driver who had just been robbed was running after his car, shouting desperately but to no avail. Gin let out a sound of displeased at his associates' incompetence.

"How could you miss a surechance like that?!" Vodka exclaimed in regret, earning himself a verbal assault from Chianti.

"F*** you!"

"You missed your chance." Rei calmly assessed the situation. "He is going to call his friends in the cops now."

"Not if we get to him first." Gin commanded, already heading to the cars behind them. "On the car! We give chase!"

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Now this, still happened according to plan.

Due to Korn's time-consuming run downstairs from the 13th floor, Rei and the others were the first to pursue Kazami. Rei stationed at an intersection under Gin's command. If his associates did everything right, Kazami would be herded there and Rei would be the one who dealt the final blow. What a twisted humor.

Through the headphones, Rei heard they were approaching. Seemed like Kazami was doing his best trying to fight of the pursuers, Rei heard Chianti cursed loudly about her car had had several scratches because of his gunshot. Also, Kazami was driving dangerously, didn't care about which side was right or left anymore, that was why none of her shot was landing at a critical part of the car.

"You must be out of your touch today, Chianti" Even Gin commented that, and Rei couldn't help a chuckle. All that infuriated Chianti more, she sped up her car like crazy.

Judging by Chianti car's noise which could be heard within earshot, Rei knew just in a minute Kazami would get here.

His car was waiting in a blind spot, a rental one not as fast as the RX-7 he usually used, but would do the job if it was just suddenly crash into Kazami car. This was a seaside way, so if he came out from the dark and took Kazami by surprise, the other car would be easily disguised as receiving a blow powerful enough to make it flip off the road and crashed into the ocean below. The easiest way to fake death was drowning, and tomorrow TV broadcaster would broadcast news about a corpse founded at a nearby beach. That would be enough for the Black Organization to not follow Kazami anymore. His PSB colleagues were stationning right below this seaside road to assist Kazami the moment he came out at the car and jumped to the ocean.

The brown car was approaching. Rei readied his hands on the wheel, turned the key to ignite the car. A little bit more and…

But suddenly, right before Kazami passed the intersection and came to where they would plan the collision, the man turned to the left and went down the street that led to the national route.

Rei couldn't believe what he just saw. He pressed the pedal, followed Kazami immediately with questions continuously popping into his head. _What the hell Kazami? Do you really want to die that badly?!_

After he informed the situation to Gin, he received his next command.

"You chase him, Bourbon! We will circle around and wait for him at the national route."

Now that this had come to this, Rei didn't have any choice but to follow where Kazami was heading.

'_You screwed your chance of escaping, Kazami!'_ \- Rei gritted his teeth, sped up after the gray car. - '_Don't blame me if I can't get you out of this!'_

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Yuya Kazami was in a panic state. Until a while ago, he still thought his plan was the best and very determined to see it through. He had planned to lead whichever member of the Black Organization chasing after him to the police checkpoint and had them capture there. He would not go into hiding without a fight. He would avenge Azusa's death at least this much.

This plan was deviated from what he had planned with his superiors and Rei Furuya, but screwed him, that man was the one who let Azusa die! He was not going to have a say in this! Kazami also realized catching a Black organization member and then went into hiding would make the rest of his life terribly miserable because of the constant pursue from the Black Organization's assassins. But his life had already been dead the moment he saw Azusa's corpse. Now nothing could scare him anymore…

...or so he had thought. Because right after he passed through the checkpoint and let the police over there knew that the next car was the one they should hold, Kazami noticed the driver on that car just stopped for a moment to show the policemen something, and then they all let that person pass through without a second check, hands even up in a proper salute.

Kazami heart loss a beat. '_Is that...is that Rei Furuya?!'_

That must be it! Kazami returned to speed up his car, fighting for a way to escape this sudden turn of table. Furuya must show his badge of a policeman, or even more, his badge of a PSB, that was why the normal police officers over there let him through without even a single doubt.

Kazami began to feel panic welled up inside him. He was heading towards a slightly crowded street, the only street he could take now with a number of trucks could be seen in sight and it was all he could do to keep this speed and still narrowed through the crowd. It bared him no time to think at all.

If...if Furuya was the one coming after him, then all the plans he had come up until now would be for naught. There was no point catching Furuya as he was one of them. And as Furuya had already informed him and the PSB, once the plan started, he couldn't contact them anymore but to act accordingly to the situation, they had to stick to the plan - he had emphasize that - because he could not do everything as he pleased either.

So now… it was really Furuya coming to deliver his death. A tall truck suddenly appeared right in front of him. Kazami used all his might to turn the wheel to the left and thanks to that, escaped a narrow death. In the panic, he realized all the questions were popping into his head and he couldn't find the answer to any. How could he avenged Azusa death now? No! How could he even get out of this and still be alive? He had dumped the chance PSB and Furuya painstakingly prepared for him right around the corner.

Suddenly, his phone was ringing. Kazami panickingly glanced at his phone which was now secured on a holder, eyes darting from the street to the screen constantly.

An unknown number...?

What the…? In a situation like this, some insurance company was trying to call him?!

Ignored the phone, Kazami tried to concentrate on getting out of the crowded street. May be this street could help him out run his pursuer.

But Rei Furuya had proven to be an excellent student at the police academy. There were some distance between them, but whenever he looked back through the rear view mirror, he still saw a white car chasing after him.

And the phone was still ringing.

Snapped, he pressed the button of receiving calls, shouted!

"Who's there?!"

A calm voice was audible from the other end:

"Easy there, buddy. I'm calling to offer you my help."

Kazami eyes widened in disbelief.

"Do you want to get out of there?"

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The chase became very hard when Kazami decided to run down a crowded street with many trucks and mini cars around. The more Rei tried to close up on him, the more he somehow escaped ahead and Rei was forced to slow down because of others cars in the way.

Kazami was still driving quite dangerously. He was coming in and out both sides from time to time, disappearing and reappearing behind many trucks. However, Rei could still track the man. After all, in a well mannered street, only one car which didn't follow the rules stood out.

The painstakingly chase finally came to a stop when the national route was right before their eyes and Kazami sped up, Rei followed right behind.

From the headphones, he had known the next position for ambush: a curl just 5 minutes driving from here. They would make Kazami stop after he exited a tunnel and before he got into another tunnel, Chianti stationed in a local road right up there would deal the shot and rendered his car useless.

Normally, they wouldn't try this risky plan because shooting a car in his 80km/h speed or more was nearly impossible. But Chianti was the one who persuaded Gin into this, though Rei suspects it was mainly because she was pissed with the way she had missed the target two times in a row today. Strange thing was, Gin also agreed. And here he was, herding Kazami to his final destination.

Rei couldn't do anything anymore. He couldn't contact PSB because he had wiretap on his body right from the time the plan started. What little time he had left didn't let him do anything. They were moving on a national route for crying out loud. There were not even anything except road, lights and cars. Telling Kazami to just crash into some cars from the other side was nothing more than suicide, although they were still driving along the beach and Kazami could very well try to fake death by dropping to the ocean the way they had originally planned. No, crashing a car here had the percentage of dying at the sight exceedingly higher than miraculously dropped to the ocean and drowning in there, not to say he didn't have any means to contact Kazami for a change of plan.

'_So this is it for you, Kazami.'_ \- Rei thought solemnly.

Suddenly, Rei noticed something strange. The car he had been chasing was not driving dangerously left and right anymore. Of course on a national route, you couldn't drive like that. But the way the car sped up and went past the other cars had a confidence degree that, Rei didn't think he had seen it in the way Kazami controlled his car. Or rather, this way of driving was similar to someone he knew, someone he detested…

Rei stopped his car immediately, cutting out any train of thought. A car in front of him had just moved to the right at the time he gave the signal to change lane. Looked to the left, Rei saw another car had just stopped in the middle of the road, maybe the tires exploded or something but that was irrelevant, because the car he was chasing had already disappeared inside the tunnel!

"Move!"

Rei shouted, pressed hard on the honk. The car in front of him hastily pulled over to the side of the road, allowed him to go forward.

He sped up his car. This must be it, the tunnel they planned the ambush right behind.

"We are coming, Chianti." He informed his associates. "Shoot the first car you see comes out from the tunnel anytime now."

"Roger that!" Chianti playfully replied, the gun loading's sound could be heard loudly through the headphones.

Rei still hadn't caught up to the car ahead, but he was going to be soon. Just around that corner, and then...

That was when he realized the car he was chasing was waiting for him at the end of the tunnel. But before any collision could happen, that car had changed laned to breeze past him, going back to where they came from.

And there was no mistaking it. Right when that car breezed past him, and the driver of that car came to light, Rei knew his feelings was not mistaken at all.

'_Okiya Subaru?!'_

He intended to turn the car back, but before he could do anything, he had escaped to the open air outside the tunnel, that was when he heard his tire exploded with a small thud and right after, he started to lose control of the car! Running at full speed didn't help either!

His car slid to the left with a dangerous edge, threatening to flip over. Rei had to grip his wheel to the right with all his might, eased off the accelerator while applying steadying pressure on the brakes and just hoped the best he could do was scratching the car to the tunnel wall to make it stop. He still heard Chianti exclaimed happily 'Got you!' when his car turned around 2-3 rounds before slamming to the wall on his right side, finally came to a stop.

Still couldn't comprehend what had just happened, Rei sat there wordlessly, feeling his breath came in and out at a quickened pace when finally he got a hold of everything and slammed his fist to the honk. A shrill shrieking inside the tunnel.

"Damn you Chianti! It's my car!" He shouted through the headphones, feeling a throb coming up from his right hand.

"What? But I shot the car that comes out first!" Chianti sounded legitly surprised.

He filled her in:

"That son of a bitch took advantage of a few seconds I was delayed and turned his car back at the end of the tunnel. Now he is heading back to where we came from!"

"You chase him, Korn." Gin's voice commanded through the headphones.

Right after, a Black Porsche came to a stop next to his car. If everything went accordingly to plan, Gin car came from the other side would close in the trap they set and gave the final demise to whoever target they were following. Well, if everything went according to plan, that was. Because now everything had gone astray, and that was because of a man he absolutely hated!

"That car still works?" Gin asked, still sitting in his car.

Just what he expected from the Black Organization. No care for the members' wellbeing.

"No, completely useless." Rei answered, moving to the passenger seat to come out of the car. His right hand had a bad bruise from colliding, but other than that, nothing was wrong with his body. What luck.

"Then come in. We are going to go assist Korn."

"What about me?" Chianti asked.

"Follow us after you get out of that local road."

Rei slammed the door shut and sat beside Gin. He heard the white haired man grumbled something like this chase had been prolonged too long already or something. Gin was in a bad mood, it'd be best if he didn't pour oil into fire.

"Do you have a first aid kit here?"

Vodka pointed to the back:

"Behind you."

While dealing with his wound, Rei pondered what had happened in his head. If it was Okiya Subaru he had chased all the time, when did he replaced Kazami?

And suddenly, it dawned on him. That time when they were on the crowded street, Kazami car had come in and out many large trucks several times. Once, he disappeared behind one truck for, Rei thought, a few seconds too long and then reappeared. That must be it! Because it was hard enough already to chase after him on that street that Rei did not have the time to look around, but now that he thought about it, only that instance could Okiya Subaru replace Kazami.

Now took into account who he thought Okiya Subaru was, this chase would not be an easy one. However, Okiya Subaru could die for all he cared, at least if Kazami was already out of the picture, they had a chance to make the fake death successful. The only thing left was... for Subaru Okiya to know where he needed to head to.

"He is heading to Konomiya beach." Korn informed them.

Everything was happening according to plan again, making Rei a bit annoyed. When did he catch up on their plan so soon and how the hell did he get to Kazami? Rei knew if they got out of this alive, there would be a long talk between them. A very long talk.

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As if answering Gin's grumble about how this chase had been going on for too long, not long after they left the national route and on the way to Konomiya beach, they heard an exclaim from Korn.

"He avoids a car and...crashed into the ocean!"

"What?!" Gin asked, snatched the microphone from Vodka hands. "How is the situation there?"

"Where he fell is right beside the beach. Several lifeguards and people are coming out to help. I have just stopped on the cliff."

"Keep your watch, Korn." Gin signaled Vodka to speed up. "We will get there right away."

Once they were there, Gin sent Rei to approach the crowd as he could flag his badge around and no one would deny him access. Of course, Korn was trailing not too far from him, keeping watch just in case.

The driver had been pulled up from the ocean, but judging by the sorrow look on the lifeguards around him, that man, Kazami, was already a lost cause. He couldn't believe it, after everything, the plan still succeeded. And through what Korn informed Gin, the Black Organization had also accepted Kazami death and retreated. Rei couldn't go with them since he had announced himself as a police officer already and had to stay back to see through the procedure until the local police got here, but he couldn't help a clench teeth! Really! The plan deviated was one thing, but to think of all people that person was the one who salvaged his plan…! It was something so blood-boiling that Rei didn't think he could keep it subtle anymore.

Right after the local police came and he had signaled for his friends - PSB officer in lifeguard disguise to handle the rest, he borrowed a car and headed right to where he thought the ocean flows must flow.

The moment before he stopped his car and got off, he deactivated the wiretap. Those people had already deactivated it long anyway. Then he got off to a remote beach with the moon shining above. The view was almost beautiful except for a figure was coming out of the water. That person walked a little staggeringly and then collapsed to the beach, breathing hard. Seemed like crashing a car and then swimming all the way to here had taken a lot out of him already.

"So I was right all along."

Rei raised his gun, voice impassive. That person's latex mask just fell down to the sand for having been dipped in salt water for too long. A pair of distinctive sharp eyes looked up at him, and the last time he remembered, that smile was as detestable as ever. Both belongs to a man whom he would never forget.

"You are Akai Shuuichi."


	4. Chapter 4

** Suburato Nanami & :** Thanks for your kind words. Chapter 4 is up now, so I hope you enjoy!

Also, about Rei being a mole for both the Black Organization and the PSB, this idea just popped into my head one day as I was thinking what if Rei had more than just three faces? It would complicated things, but it is an interesting idea to explore since many twist and turn could be born out of this, though it did make it harder for me to write...(￣`Д´￣)9

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They agreed to come sit down at someplace to have a talk. Not that Rei complained, because today's events were already hectic as it was, if they were going to stand here and talk, there was a chance Rei's patience would wear off and he would blow off this man's head before long.

Opening the door to greet them at the Kudo residence, Akai's temporary hiding place, was none other than the one Rei had suspected 'had given them a helping hand', Conan Edogawa. Rei could not fathom how the kid could appear here since he had clearly heard Vermouth gave Ran a warning, which should entailed the kid be grounded tonight. Anyway, this kid was smart, so of course he had found his way out somehow.

Conan, right after meeting his eyes, turned cautious mode almost immediately as if to react to something he was emitting. Rei knew he was putting on his Bourbon mask a bit too serious here, but he didn't feel the need to put it off. With all the things that happened tonight and the way those two not only caught up on his plan but worse, salvaged it, Rei had the right to be pissed.

They sat down on the same sofa he had confronted Akai Shuuichi last time, albeit today, he did talk to the real Akai Shuuichi and not the disguised Okiya Subaru.

"Could you wait a bit? I'm gonna get change and be right back."

Akai gestured to his miserable state of clothes and scooted off to the door. A few minutes later he came back, fully dressed with a towel over his head, seemed just emerge from a shower. The man gave his hair a final ruffle before setting the towel to the side and came sit down in one of the chairs.

"Had you include water in the plan every time, Furuya?" Akai was referencing the time they were in the Organization and Rei had the tendency to escape using water way. "Next time I would be reluctant to help if it's threatening to expose my disguise like this."

"Oh!" Rei exclaimed. "If I had known it would involve you, I would have added fire, explosion, electricity and more in the plan to make the death more convincing."

"I would really die with that much treatments, there's no need to fake death at all."

"Precisely why."

Rei smiled wryly, holding perfect eye contact with the man in front of him. Their eyes staring turned the atmosphere suddenly so tense to the extent, had there not a voice interrupting abruptly, Rei thought electricity might start forming in the air.

"H-Hey! I brought the tea. Do you want it with lemon or not?"

It was Conan with a tray of tea. The kid's eyes dartes back and forth between them waringly. Looking at him, Rei had the impression the kid had just witnessed volcanoes eruption or something. Well, Rei would save Conan the effort by accepting his hospitality. He did not want to hold eye contact with this man a minute longer anyway.

"Mine is with lemon."

"Mine is without lemon." Akai followed suit, helping Conan to pour out the tea to each cup. The kid placed a slice of lemon on the surface of the brown liquid before setting it in front of him. For a moment, Rei contemplated the cup of tea, deciding whether there was any poison in it since Akai was the one who poured before his attention was directed back to a question pointed at him.

"Was sister Azusa...already dead?"

The one who posed the question was Conan. He could see in the kid's eyes there was a sliver of hope lingering. It was too bad, though.

"You attended her funeral. Don't you have a better idea of this than I am?"

Rei brought the tea to his mouth. He had decided this liquid did not contain anything suspicious.

"In some cases, the casket over there could have been emptied. Like the one is going to be at Kazami's funeral right now."

Fair point. Although it was not gonna change anything.

Rei set the cup down. The tea eased his sudden bitter throat a bit.

"She is dead. She happened to be at our drug exchanging scene. So the only feasible option for us is to put her down."

His words brought a finality that Conan's eyes darkened a shade. Of course anyone who knew how Kazami escaped today would also hope for the same for Azusa. It was just, there was no way a wistful thinking could be real.

"Did you kill her?"

This time it was Akai, no beating around the bush as always. Conan drew in a sharp breath hearing the question, but Akai just stared at him without a single cloud of doubt in his eyes. This man used to be in the same Organization as him. Hell, he was even Gin's nemesis and was supposed to work under his nemesis if not for the carelessness of his FBI colleagues. Of course he of all people would know Gin's fetish in this matter.

"Yes, I did." Rei confirmed. His eyes lingered a fraction too long at Akai before he continued to elaborate.

"You know how the Organization love for acquaintance to kill each other should there's a purge going to happen, plus Gin never takes any wound as fatal unless it's a bullet to the head. You guys know this, that's why you played Gin right into your trick and faked death successfully last time. But this time, I'm in no position to arrange something beforehand. What I shot her, is indeed real bullet."

He should feel remorseful, regretful even. But strangely when everything came to light, he only felt calm. A sense of emptiness enfolded him but nonetheless, it was not something uncomfortable. Rei thought he had been used to these kind of feelings from long ago.

Conan seemed to take his time accepting that this all was just an unfortunate incident. It involved the Black Organization for crying out loud, so the kid must think there was something fishy going on and the truth was not as simple as that. Rei himself once also hoped for the same thing, but gradually, reality sank in and he had to make a choice or else his life would be forfeit.

Hell, the one who should feel worse about this situation was himself, not these people who were sitting here giving him an interrogation. The more miserable Conan's brows became, the more annoyed Rei starting to feels and if it was not for something he would like to make it clear when he came here, he would have called off their talk right here and now.

Of course Rei didn't come here to be questioned. Azusa had already dead, no matter the circumstances, what done was done and there was no turning back. If telling the truth was making his situation more miserable in the eyes of these people then Rei didn't need it. He could deal with everything perfectly fine on his own. That was the way it always be. That was how he managed to get through everything to come to this day. And that, was precisely why for he to sit here, endured one of the most detestable man on earth and an overly-curious child, there could only be one thing to ascertain…

"What the hell do you want?"

Rei stared at them, ice-cold eyes penetrating every depth.

"Trying to get involved with the Organization from time to time? That crazy man and his stupid organization aside..."

Rei didn't even cast a glance at Akai when throwing insults at his arch-enemy. Instead he turned to Conan, meeting the look from the kid.

"What does a kid like you aim for messing up with the Organization? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Conan's eyes didn't waver, he met him head on and Rei saw there was some commitments in those eyes.

"I can't tell you. But I don't intend to throw my life away."

"Even when the people around you are at risk?"

Like Azusa. And Azusan had already dead, but it was by him and not Conan.

"I will not let them be harm!"

Rei stared at the boy, eyes almost disappointed.

"Do you know how hollow that conviction sound when you just witnessed what happened to me and Azusa? Do you have something more convincing to say?"

"I know I cannot guarantee that everything will be alright all the time. Unfortunate events might happen…" Conan seemed to choose his words carefully. "That's why along with my personal motive, I want to destroy the Black Organization. As long as they are gone, such unfortunate event like what happened to sister Azusa will not repeat, my friends and everyone will be safe. That's why I try to catch on any opportunities to bring the Organization down. Helping you today is also one step to achieve that goal of mine."

...Or rather messing it up, if Conan knew who he truly was, but Rei didn't say. After all, the kid did help Kazami by sending the most detestable man on earth to help him fake death successfully (how much it stung was another story), but right now Rei had to give credit where it worthed. That didn't mean he would cooperate with the kid though.

"So no matter how many times I ask, you won't reveal your true motive even though you are pretty much asking me to cooperate with you?"

"I'm sorry I can't."

The boy answered grimly.

Rei gave Conan a final glance before letting the matter slide.

"Whatever. I will work out what it is with time anyway."

Now turned to the black haired man opposite him, Rei could feel his annoyance coming back immediately. How brilliant talent he possessed with just by being there could he make one's blood boiling. Rei sipped at his cup, asking away.

"And what about you? Still making Vermouth your target?"

"That's only in the name and you know it." Akai answered. "For a long time, my main goal is the destruction of the Organization."

"It's going to hinder you greatly should Vermouth has already been captured but the Organization is still intact. You can't ask for help from the FBI anymore."

"Then I'm going to persuade them to see it through till the end."

Rei had no doubt Akai could definitely do that. How else could he come back here and still be the ace of the FBI after that failure 5 years ago? FBI must have their own motive for getting involved in a criminal organisation in a far away country, but he doubted it was anyone other than Akai who had persuaded FBI to still maintained a large scale of personnel here in Japan. The man had the knack to make it so that FBI's interest was aligned with his own motive.

Very convenient for Akai, but not at all convenient for him.

Rei drank up the last content of his cup and set it down. There was nothing for him to do here anymore.

"I will see myself out. Thank you for the tea."

Conan let out a startled sound at his sudden depart, seemed like the boy still wanted to say something to him. Rei saved the boy the trouble by casting him a glance:

"And if you worry about your accomplice in the Organization, Kir, I won't sell her out. Consider it my thanks for helping out Kazami today. But do not think I have become your second accomplice. I will provide the information when I see fit, that's all."

Conan's face softened into a smile, looking at him with gratitude.

"That's already help plenty. Thanks."

Rei didn't know what the boy should thank him about. There were many loose ends in his statement, and if he wanted, he could rephrase it in any way convenient for him. But the boy still looked at him like he trusted him, just like Azusa, and it did nothing to lighten his mood for tonight.

Rei made it till the door, then realized there was one thing still bugging him. He turned and looked at Akai:

"Last question, how do you know Kazami's phone number?"

"The same way I find out your real name."

Hacking, that was. And he didn't need to ask how he knew about the skirmish and appeared at exactly the right time and place. Conan must have informed him after Kazami left the funeral, and everything after that, whether improvised at the scene or planned carefully, was only a demonstration of how brilliant Akai and Conan could be.

For a brief moment, Rei wondered about the possibility of working together with them, then maybe he could bring down the organization more quickly and put an end to this life of a quadruple faced agent of him. But Rei quickly suddened at the thought. What was he thinking? As a spy of the Black Organization or as an agent of the Public Security Bureau? Was he thinking as Rei Furuya or just now, Amuro Tooru?

Rei knew tonight his mind was in disarray, so he quickly left the Kudo's residence without another word. The blackness of the night did nothing to alleviate many troubles popping into his head as he pressed on the pedal to speed up on the road.


End file.
